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Mendocino County rises along Northern California’s Pacific coastline as a destination shaped by vineyards, ocean air, and the towering presence of Redwood forests. For travelers who want an experience that blends wine culture, scenic trails, and small coastal towns, Mendocino offers an inviting alternative to the more familiar wine regions of Napa and Sonoma.
When I arrived I wanted to explore a county known for ninety miles of coastline, more than ninety wineries, and twenty-four state and national parks. Mendocino sits along what is called the Redwood Corridor between Highway 1 and Highway 101.
I flew into San Francisco and made the three and a half hour drive north along Highway 128, which winds through pastures, vineyards, and orchards. Mendocino County holds the highest concentration of organic and biodynamic vineyards in the United States and contains twelve American Viticultural Areas, each with its own distinct character. My first stop was Anderson Valley, a region celebrated for Pinot Noir and sparkling Alsatian-style wines.
How to Reach Mendocino County
Reaching Mendocino County is part of the experience. The most direct route is to fly into San Francisco International Airport and drive north toward the coast. Highway 128 guides you through a patchwork of orchards, ranch land, and vineyards while you transition into what many call California’s greenest wine region.
The landscape becomes cooler and more coastal as you approach Anderson Valley, where wineries sit between Redwood groves and rolling hills.
Anderson Valley: The Heart of Mendocino Wineries
Anderson Valley is quieter than Napa and Sonoma and is known for its strong sense of land and climate. Its cool marine air and microclimates make it ideal for Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, and other Alsatian varietals. My first tasting took place at Lula Cellars, a boutique winery located in the valley’s deep end where Pacific breezes influence the growing season.
Lula Cellars: Touring a Boutique Vineyard in Full Harvest
When I arrived at Lula Cellars, the Pinot Noir grapes were full and only days away from harvest. The vineyards stretched across fifteen planted acres, where fourteen acres hold Pinot Noir and one acre grows Gewürztraminer. General Manager Chris Lanier led me through the vines and shared the origin of the property.
“The property was purchased in 2012,” he said. “We started planting grapes and rescuing the rescue block in 2013.”
The rescue block came from one thousand original vines that survived in fallow soil and now produce a limited-release Pinot Noir for wine club members. Lula produces between 4,500 and 5,000 cases a year, and about half of their grapes come from their own vineyard, while the rest come from growers throughout Anderson Valley and Mendocino County.
Chris explained why Anderson Valley is so well-suited for high-quality Pinot Noir.
“All around California there are micro-climates. Here the valley is fantastic for growing Pinot Noir. Napa and Sonoma are great for Cabernet and Merlot.”
Harvest at Lula Cellars happens by hand at night so the grapes remain cool. Crews pick the fruit around nine or ten in the evening under bright tractor lights. By early morning, the grapes are trucked to Santa Rosa for processing at a custom crush facility.
Tasting Alsatian Whites and Elegant Pinot Noirs
After the vineyard tour, I joined Dan Reed, the tasting room manager, for an al fresco tasting. We began with a bone-dry Gewürztraminer, a varietal that reflects Anderson Valley’s transition in the 1970s from orchards and timber to grape growing.
Dan explained the name of the varietal.
“It is perfectly acceptable to call it Gewürz,” he said. “Gewürz means spicy and traminer means fluid or wine.”
The wine carried citrus and floral notes with a very dry finish. Dan shared why their Gewürztraminer stands out.
“We have the least residual sugar year after year. It is our hallmark and it is very food friendly.”
We continued with a salmon pink Pinot Noir that opened with rose petal and red berry notes. Dan explained the process behind the wine’s delicate color.
“All wines come out white when they are crushed. You get color by putting the juice back over the stems and skins. A light color does not mean it lacks flavor.”
The tasting ended with two single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, Costa and Peterson. Although the vineyards sit less than a mile apart, the flavor profiles are noticeably different.
“Costa went down perhaps eighty eight feet and found organic matter,” Dan said. “Peterson went down maybe eighty feet and found white rock and granite.”
Lula Cellars is one of about one hundred wineries in Anderson Valley, and approximately forty are open to the public for tastings.
Blufftop Tastings at Fathers + Daughters Cellars
My next stop took me to Fathers + Daughters Cellars, where hospitality begins the moment you arrive. Their grapes are grown at Ferrington Vineyard, a seventy-eight-acre property that cultivates Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Alsatian varietals. The family welcomed me warmly, including their dog Cotton, whose enthusiasm set a friendly tone for the experience.
Guy and Sarah shared how their label began a decade ago when their youngest daughter, Ella, was born. The first wine we tasted was Sarah’s Rustic Bubbles, a lightly sparkling Chardonnay made in an older, traditional style.
“It is the most difficult wine he makes,” Guy explained. “We press it, bottle it, cap it and do not disgorge it or add dosage. He has to capture it at the right minute.”
The wine drinks somewhere between a cider and a sparkling, and it is bright and casual. One winemaker in the valley calls it fresh-squeezed champagne.
Riding to the Bluff for a Panoramic Tasting
Guy invited me to climb onto their ATV mule, and we rode through the vineyard to a blufftop where he and Sarah were married. From the top, Anderson Valley spread out in every direction, and the landscape framed the tasting experience in a way that felt deeply connected to the land.
Here, they opened a 2015 Chardonnay.
“All of our wines are made so you can lay them down,” Guy said. “Most whites are not made that way.”
We enjoyed a picnic of Spanish tapas catered by Disco Ranch in nearby Boonville. The family explained why they host tastings on the bluff.
“The tastings that resonate are the ones done in the vineyard because you feel where the wine comes from,” Guy said.
He offered a clear view of the valley’s geography.
“The valley goes from southeast to northwest. This is the warmer end and the deep end is to the northwest. Ferrington is usually the first to ripen.”
Their tastings are not publicized and are arranged by request with at least a week’s notice. The small size of each tasting allows them to connect personally with guests.
Anderson Valley attracts wine lovers who want an intimate connection with the land.
The region is also part of Northern California’s Emerald Triangle with Trinity and Humboldt counties. With two hundred ninety acres of licensed cannabis cultivation, Mendocino is considered a major production region because of its ideal microclimates.
Scenic Trails in the Village of Mendocino
I made a short side trip to the Village of Mendocino, which is a National Historic Preservation District.
The village is filled with Victorian and saltbox-style homes and is home to boutiques, restaurants, and art galleries. The Mendocino Art Center was established in the 1950s and drew artists to the region.
The village sits on a peninsula surrounded by cliffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean. I spent time walking the streets, browsing through galleries, and taking in the views that define this small coastal community.
Exploring Fort Bragg Coastal Paths and Redwood Trails
A fifteen-minute drive north brought me to Fort Bragg, a former logging and fishing village known for its rugged coastline and its heritage train. At the Skunk Train Railroad Depot, I prepared for a different kind of trail experience.
Instead of riding the train, I chose rail bikes. These two-person bikes can be pedaled or motorized, and the route follows the historic tracks through the Redwood forest and estuaries.
A guide shared the history of the railroad.
“C. R. Johnson founded the railroad in 1885 for logging operations,” he said. “He insisted on standard gauge rails so it could one day connect with other rails and travel across the country.”
We traveled seven miles round-trip to Glen Blair Junction. Along the way, the guide introduced us to California coastal Redwoods.
“These are the tallest living things on earth,” he said. “Some say fifteen stories tall and others say sixteen.”
He described the fire-resistant outer bark and the flammable interior and explained that locals often use the interior wood for kindling. We also passed a charred, hollowed stump that early settlers carved into an animal pen.
Mendocino County contains nearly 2,500 square miles of land with about 523 acres of Redwoods. Some trees grow more than 320 feet tall and live more than 2,000 years. Although many were logged more than a century ago, they have the remarkable ability to reproduce from stumps.
At Glen Blair Junction, I stepped off the rail bike and took a one-mile hike through the forest with a guide who filled the trail with knowledge and humor. The Redwood stories continued with the history that linked logging to California’s growth.
From 1852 to 1882, Mendocino supplied Redwood lumber to the state and continued as a major source into the 1920s. Only five percent of the original old-growth forest now survives from California’s central coast to southern Oregon.
A Renewed Sense of Connection Along Mendocino’s Trails
My time in Mendocino became a personal reset. The landscape, from the vineyards to the coastal cliffs and the Redwood trails, offered a sense of grounding that stayed with me long after the trip ended.
The energy of Northern California brought clarity and renewed vitality as I wrapped up my visit along the Mendocino Coast in the winemaking region of Anderson Valley.
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